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Detroit, 1905. "Children's Day -- Playground at Belle Isle Park." Somewhere under all those kids, there's a merry-go-round. 8x10 glass negative. View full size.
The merry-go-round is long gone, as are the knickers and caps, but some of Belle Isle's 120+ year old picnic shelters, in the style of the one seen in the background here, are still standing and in regular use. In fact, since the island became a state park a couple of years ago, summer weekend reservations for these shelters now need to be made months in advance.
Or Hog Island was the original name of the island in the Detroit river and was a place of swamps and snakes until Frederick Law Olmstead of Central Park fame was hired to turn it into an urban oasis. It's had some rough times over the years, but is now again returning to our Beautiful Island
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